Syrian Opposition to Ask UN to Organize Geneva-3 Talks

Both Syrian sides would benefit from Geneva-3 talks, and the Syrian government would hardly oppose the initiative, a representative of the opposition said.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Representatives of Syria's so-called moderate opposition have proposed to appeal to the United Nations (UN) over the need for Geneva-3 talks, one of the Syrian opposition leaders Qadri Jamil said Friday.

"Out of the agenda, we, the vast majority of the opposition, agreed it is necessary to send a message to the UN Secretary General on Geneva-3, I believe, this requirement is mutual," Jamil, Syria's opposition negotiator in the latest intra-Syrian talks in Moscow, said during a press conference held at the Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency.

Both Syrian sides would benefit from Geneva-3 talks, and the Syrian government would hardly oppose the initiative, Jamil added.

An attempt to negotiate a peace deal during the Geneva-2 talks failed in February 2014, as the parties were unable to agree on any of the matters before them.

On April 6-9, Moscow hosted the second round of the intra-Syrian talks between the country's leadership and the opposition. The previous round of negotiations was held in the Russian capital on January 26-29.

The second round of talks was considered positive and could provide the groundwork for the next steps to resolve the crisis in Syria, Jamil told Sputnik earlier on Friday.

The ongoing civil war in Syria has already killed at least 220,000 since the conflict started in 2011, according to UN estimates.